10 Best Hotels in The Mae Hong Son Loop, Northern Thailand

The brook babbles right outside your cabin window if you ask for a room with a view at this little resort. The cabins are tiny but clean; two villas, also timber-built, are more spacious. Accommodations at the water's edge have terraces where you can soak up the uninterrupted view of sugar cane fields and the mountains beyond.

The chatter of gibbons wakes you up at this remote mountain lodge between Pai and Mae Hong Son. The cave after which it is named, just a short walk from the lodge, is one of the region's most spectacular caverns, with wall paintings and prehistoric coffins. The Australian owner of the lodge organizes treks and river tours in the surrounding jungle.

The room rates can be a bit pricey here, but they'll get you spacious bungalows built in steep-eaved Shan style, set over a valley of former rice paddies. Close to a bubbling stream, all the bungalows are comfortably furnished in bamboo and teak and have private terraces. The rooms have no TVs or telephones—the owners of this eco-resort want to guarantee an away-from-it-all experience.

Set among mature teak trees, this fine hotel was designed to blend in with the surroundings—bungalows in landscaped gardens have both front and back porches, giving the teak-floored and bamboo-furnished rooms a light-and-airy feel. Golden Teak, which serves excellent Thai, Chinese, and European dishes, has a glassed-in section for chilly mornings and evenings. The restaurant and bar face the valley, as does the beautifully landscaped pool area.

A friendly Thai family runs this hotel, which offers basic rooms in its main building and larger, more luxurious options in a separate two-story villa. Guest room balconies in the villa are large private vantage points for soaking in the stars at night and the sunrise in the morning. The owners are happy to make you breakfast and dinner if you let them know in advance.

Surrounded by the soothing calls of crow pheasants, this beautifully landscaped spa retreat has wooden chalets with modern amenities near the Pai River. There are two hot spring pools on-site, as well as a swimming pool with views of lush green mountains, a spa, and a tour desk that can arrange activities like biking, trekking, or bamboo rafting.

"Vimaan" means "heaven," and this fine resort commands a celestial spot on the banks of the Pai River. Deluxe rooms in the main house, a stately building constructed almost entirely of teak, are enormous and opulently furnished in Lanna style. Two-story villas are arranged along a path that leads down to the river. The hotel has its own motorcycle taxi service to ferry guests around Pai.

Cooling breezes from the Yuam River waft through the open-plan areas of this attractive teak hotel, with rooms a simple but elegant synthesis of white walls, dark woods, and handwoven textiles from Sop Moei Arts, an initiative that supports local Pwo Karen artisans. The small terraces overlooking the river are a nice bonus. The 12 rooms are quickly taken in high season—Room 23 has a lamyai tree growing through its outside deck and is particular popular—so if the hotel is full, the nearby Riverhouse Resort, run by the same owners, is recommended. It's more expensive but has more facilities.

This modern hotel is a stylish contrast to the nearby teak-built Riverhouse Hotel, under the same ownership, but the smart interior is welcoming and comfortable. Rooms eschew the traditional Thai style of this region and are furnished in sleek wood veneers and fine fabrics, and most have small terraces overlooking the Yuam River.